Navara

[jx2mad]

Hi all. I have just joined the group and the name is Jim. I am considering a Hissan Navara for a round Aussie trip. I am looking at a cab chassis 4wd,4 cyl diesel manual. Would this be a suitable vehicle for such an undertaking? Please bear in mind that at the moment I am not a Nissan driver, but could be persuaded. Jim

 

[KraftyPg]

Welcome Jim

If you were doing it for traveling I'd consider an auto, there is a lot of gear changes going around the country and you might be thankful for it. (that said only the D40 comes with an auto option). Towing is also better in an auto especially with large loads if you every need that.

There is plenty of us who use their Nav's for touring, some use the D22 others use the D40 (no idea of the model breakdown figures), and while there is differences it's mainly a personal thing as they both preform pretty much the same in the hands of the average driver which most of us are.

 

[terryc]

A Nissan Navara would be great. Anything more would require a bit more information on how you intend to do it; swag, tent, camper trailer, caravan, etc.

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome to the forum, Jim.

I'd also suggest an auto, particularly if towing. Many manual dual cab utes these days have dual mass flywheels - these have thin contact areas on the flywheel which heat up and destroy clutches prematurely. The cure is to spend $2,000 or so and get a new clutch fitted with a single-mass flywheel or, with hindsight, go back and buy the auto.

We have an auto and tow everywhere. Gotta say it's very comfortable, has enough power for our needs and keeps us cool even on days like this:

Picture taken on the Ernest Giles road on our Uluru Trip Christmas 2010.

 

[jx2mad]

Hi Guys. Thanks for the replys. I am considering a trayback version with hard canopy. I wouls set this up for camping, with either sleeping in back or small touring tent. What sort of fuel consumption could I expect from the auto model? Jim

 

[Old.Tony]

The auto is hardly different to the manual, because at cruise (over 75km/h) the torque converter locks onto the input and turns over the gearbox 1:1.

On to some figures (there is a thread that talks about D40 Fuel Economy). We've managed to get mid-10s with ours, laden @ about 2700kg. Specifically, we filled up in Newcastle, drove south, crossed Bass Strait, drove around Devonport and down to Launceston where we refuelled and still had about 29 litres left in the tank (we have a long range tank). Exact consumption was 120.9L for 1,118km = 10.6LPHK.

Around town ours varies from 12s to 14s depending on traffic, mood, bad timing with traffic lights etc.